3D Non-Abelian Anyons: Degeneracy Splitting and Detection by Adiabatic Cooling

TL;DR

This paper predicts that adiabatic magnetic field changes in certain heterostructures could detect 3D non-abelian anyons through measurable cooling effects, providing a practical experimental approach.

Contribution

It offers a realistic, quantitative prediction for detecting 3D non-abelian anyons via adiabatic cooling in specific material systems.

Findings

Adiabatic magnetic field increase causes cooling if anyons are present.

Absence of anyons leads to heating under the same conditions.

Identifies temperature and magnetic field regimes for experimental detection.

Abstract

3D non-abelian anyons have been theoretically proposed to exist in heterostructures composed of type II superconductors and topological insulators. We use realistic material parameters for a device derived from Bi$_2$Se$_3$ to quantitatively predict the temperature and magnetic field regimes where an experiment might detect the presence of these exotic states by means of a cooling effect. Within the appropriate parameter regime, an adiabatic increase of the magnetic field will result in a decrease of system temperature when anyons are present. If anyons are not present, the same experiment would result in heating.